Formula 1 gets separate qualification for sprint race

Additional qualifying in motorsport’s premier class will replace the second free practice. On Friday, as usual, the first free practice followed by the “normal” qualifying determines the starting order for Sunday’s race (the Grand Prix). Just like last year, points can be earned in the sprint race for the World Championship classification.

The unanimous teams

The teams were unanimous in favor of the change. “That way there’s entertainment every day, Friday through Sunday,” he said in a statement. “In addition, drivers can now ride freely in the sprint race, without having to worry about their starting position in the Grand Prix. This means that everyone can go flat out and that only adds to the tension. .”

The drivers, led by world champion Max Verstappen, had also insisted on a different setup as the drivers drove the sprint race “safely”. “You score points,” Verstappen said in November, “but you also know you can’t do it all because it really matters a day later. You also don’t make a pit stop and you drive with it. tires that you have to hold on to until the end. Keep it up. You also see few overtaking attempts. I don’t like that very much.”

Six sprint races

A 100 kilometer sprint race will take place at six GPs this season. The first takes place in Azerbaijan. The others are in Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the United States (Austin) and Brazil.

In recent years, the result of the sprint race determined the starting order of the Sunday race. The teams had previously announced that there would be two separate qualifiers. Plans for this were finalized today.